


don't worry, ballerina

by corbrinas



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Dancer AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-01-28 21:42:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12616180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corbrinas/pseuds/corbrinas
Summary: "how is it possible to fall for someone you've been losing to your whole life?"





	1. introduction

**Author's Note:**

> title from 'tin soldier song' from backstage

_“THIS ONE’S GONNA HURT LIKE HELL”_

“Good job girls, I think you’re ready” the teacher smiled at the seven year olds.

  
A large grin formed on the blonde’s face while the brunette bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers nervously. The teacher walked out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaving the two young girls to themselves.  
  
“Riley, are you alright?” Maya asked the girl beside her.  
  
The two of them had never been particularly close or even friends for that matter but they cared for each other and had a kind of bond no adult could really understand.  
  
“I’m just a little nervous for the performance” Riley’s eyes finally left the floor and went to the blonde’s.  
  
The performance was a ballet duet their teacher had assigned them as part of their studio’s annual end of year concert. The two of them were picked as they were the two best dancers in their class and had received equal marks in their exams that year.  
  
“You’ll do great! We’ve spent so long practising and you’re the best dancer I know” Maya assured her.  
  
“I guess you’re right. But you’re the best dancer I know” Riley spoke, a small smile growing on her face.  
  
The two of them stood in silence for a moment, just looking into each other’s eyes and enjoying the presence of the other.  
  
For this was the last time they would be considered as equals; they may as well savour the moment…


	2. one

_“NEVER BE ENOUGH”_

 

Today was the day. The day that all the dancers at the studio had been waiting months for. The day that would determine their place in the end of year production. The day they would receive their examination marks.  
  
As the years went on, dancing grew harder and harder and slowly more and more people dropped out. The size of the class had gone from almost thirty to just over ten. Somehow, Riley and Maya both fought the pressure and ended up as two of the 11 dancers left.  
  
Not only that, but they were still the two best dancers in their class. But now there was a first-best.  
  
Riley was the one known as the best ballerina in their group, always receiving a slightly higher mark and being front and centre in every dance for the past 7 years. Maya had worked equally as hard, but sometimes in this business, working hard just isn’t enough.  
  
A student teacher tacked the sheet of results to a bulletin board and left quickly as the students ran towards it, eager to receive their results. Many sets of eyes skimmed over the names and numbers and most left with satisfied grins, while a few left with faces painted with disappointment.  
  
Maya quickly found her name and read her mark. _97%._ A smile formed on her face but quickly faulted as her eyes flickered down the page to the name _Riley Matthews_. _98%, of course.  
  
_ She tried to replace the look of dismay in her eyes with happiness. After all, why should she let 1% get in the way of her self worth?  
  
“Congratulations Riley, highest mark in the studio once again!” the teacher spoke, getting the class to applaud.  
  
Maya swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to be happy for Riley. _But she’d never be happy for me.  
  
_ Over the years, the relationship between the two girls had only declined. As young dancers, they were taught that not everyone you performed with had to be your friend, but it felt like this was something different. They saw each other five days a week and spent numerous hours working together, yet they had never had a conversation that wasn’t about dance or gotten to know anything about each other. People often mistook them as friends, to which they would both awkwardly smile and laugh and explain that they weren’t really that close.  
  
Despite not having a friendship, the bond the two of them shared had always remained the same. And still no one understood it, mainly because the girls didn't even realise it existed. The connection they had was something new, something that didn't even require a friendship or talking to each other to recognise.  
  
The dancers slowly started to leave the studio until it was just the two of them left. Riley in the back room, going over the notes the examiner had given her, and Maya in the main studio, practising her fouetté turns and trying to improve herself.  
  
Maya turned and turned and turned until she was so dizzy the room was spinning. She fell to the ground, her breathing coming out in heavy pants and sweat dripping down her head. _You’ll never get better unless you practice more_ she told herself, her mind trying to convince her to get up off the floor. Her head was still spinning though, so she tried to focus on steadying her breathing.  
  
Quiet footsteps were what made Maya sit up on the wooden floor. She looked towards the door and saw the tall brunette walking towards her. Maya shot her an awkward smile, not really knowing how to acknowledge her presence.  
  
“My mom just texted me that she can’t pick me up tonight and I was wondering if I could go home with you.” There was a kind of confidence in her voice that had always been hidden behind her quietness. Maya had tried to explain it to someone once but it never really made sense to anyone but her.  
  
“Oh um, sure. I was just planning on walking home tonight though” she said quietly, not knowing how to act around the other girl.  
  
“That’s fine, I just don’t want to walk alone at this hour”  
  
And again there was silence and a glance shared between them. A glance that reminded them both of simpler times.  
  
“So do you wanna stay here a little longer or should we go?” Riley questioned.  
  
“We can go now” Maya answered, trying not to let her anxiety display itself in her words.  
  
The blonde quickly moved to the other side of the room to grab her dance bag before walking out the door with the brunette girl at her side. They left the building, making sure to turn off all the lights and lock the doors as their teacher had requested. The sound of cars driving down suburban streets and crickets chirping in the dark filled the silence as they walked towards the complex where Riley lived.  
  
“What happened to us?” Riley asked, stopping and turning towards Maya.  
  
“What do you mean?” Maya had an idea of what she was talking about but didn't want to assume.  
  
“What happened to us? I know we were never friends but we at least used to talk when we were little. When did everything start to change?”  
  
The amount of passion in Riley’s voice surprised Maya. She never thought the other girl cared about her at all except for making sure she was better than her. After all, the past few years had been the hardest competition either girl had ever faced.  
  
“When you got a higher mark in our grade two exam and then got the first featured spot in the dance when we were eight. You started hanging with the older kids” Maya shrugged as she talked, continuing to walk after Riley had stopped them.  
  
“I never meant to stop talking to you. I’m sorry”  
  
“It’s alright, we were never that close anyways”  
  
There was silence from both the girls after that, and Maya knew she had said the wrong thing. Small noises filled the air and the two girls walked slowly to Riley’s apartment deep in thought.  
  
“This is it here” Riley pointed to the building they were about to approach. Not that Maya would ever forget though.  
  
She had only been to Riley’s place once when they were nine years old. It was the day before their annual concert and Riley’s mother had to do a last minute alteration on Maya’s costume. While Topanga finished up the last of the sewing, the girls had sat together and watched a rerun of _Friends_ , mainly because it was the only thing on.  
  
The memory didn’t seem to important as Maya thought about it but it was one that would never fade from her mind.  
  
“I’ll see you tomorrow in class I guess” the blonde spoke quietly, once again not knowing what to say.  
  
“Yeah, see you then” Riley shot her back an awkward smile.  
  
With anyone else, this would have been the part where they would hug. But being the people they were, they stood in an awkward silence for a moment before Riley mumbled out something incoherent and entered her apartment.  
  
As soon as Riley was out of sight, Maya let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and a look of sadness came across her face before she let out the quietest whisper she could manage.  
  
_“I miss you, Riles”_


	3. two

_"LIFE IS CHANGING"_

 

"Hey" Riley smiled, walking towards Maya as she entered the dance studio. She placed her bag down on a seat next to the blonde girl and let her brown eyes stare into blue.

"Oh, um, hi" Maya forced a smile onto her face, kind of confused as to why they were talking.

Memories of the night before flashed through her mind but it still felt like there was something missing, something she didn't know.

"So I-" Riley started but was cut off by their dance teacher.

"Take your places at the barre and start to warm up, we have a lot to get through today!" she clapped her hands together and walked to the centre of the room as the students all moved quickly to the barre at the side of the room.

Arms and legs moved around but all Maya could focus on was the sentence that Riley had started.

_What was she going to say?_

There were a million different possibilities running through her head but none of them seemed like something that could actually happen.

The whole 'talking to Riley' thing still seemed foreign to her. After all these years of competing with each other she wants to talk?

_Maybe she wants something from me... But what do I have that she would want? Maybe she's being nice to me so I'll trust her and then she'll push me off the team so she's the best dancer... But she's already the best and everyone knows that...._

More and more thoughts ran through her head until a finger was snapped in her face.

"Hey blondie, are you alright?"

Maya turned her head to see Farkle with a slightly concerned look on his face.

"I know you space out a lot but this," he stopped to gesture to her face, "is something else. What's up?"

She contemplated telling him for a moment before remembering he was the most trustworthy friend she had.

"Riley's talking to me"

"How is that so shocking?" the confusion was still written all over the tall boy's face.

"Riley, the same girl who has barely spoken a word to me in the past seven years is now acting like we're best friends"

"Don't you want to be friends with her or something?"

"No! I do" Maya was quick to respond. "But it just feels like something is up with her. Like right before class, she started saying something before she was interrupted"

"Do you know what she was going to say?"

"No, and that's what's worrying me!" Maya panicked in a whisper, trying to make sure to no one else could hear their conversation.

"You just need to relax, Riley's just a generally friendly person and she probably just wants to make up for all the years you guys weren't best friends" Farkle said and she nodded.

Farkle had always been kind of a middle ground for Riley and Maya, as he had always been both of their friends.

It was kind of an unspoken thing that whenever Riley was with him, Maya wasn't, and the other way around.

"Yeah, you're probably right" Maya spoke, her voice not completely filled with certainty.

The teacher started to talk and the two of them quickly turned to face her, trying to hide evidence of their conversation, knowing it would get them both in trouble.

"From the corner in partners: four piqué's, two soutenu turns, chassé jeté" the teacher instructed before moving off to the front of the room.

Maya ran through the combination a few times in her head before looking around to try and find Farkle who was her go-to for partner work.

But instead a smiling brunette was standing in front of her.

"Partners?" Riley asked and Maya nodded.

Maya really was confused now. Riley always hung out with the popular kids, the kids that were good at hip hop.

The blonde shook off the thoughts and realised they were at the front of the line and were to dance next.

_Piqué, piqué, piqué, piqué, soutenu, soutenu, chassé, jeté._

"Hold your core, Matthews" the teacher yelled over the music.

Maya felt a small sense of pride that she had not received a comment, that meant she had done well.

The class went through more exercises until it was the time of class for them to put on their pointe shoes.

Farkle sat down in front of Maya who was tying the ribbon on her first shoe.

"So Riley really does want to be your friend now, huh?" he laughed at her, earning him a glare.

"I don't know why and it's stressing me out. Do you think it's part of a plan from Missy to humiliate me?" The anxiety was clear in Maya's voice.

"You know she'd never do that to you. And anyways, you were telling me at that competition a few months ago you wished you had become friends with her when you were kids and that it wasn't always about competition"

By then Maya had finished putting on her shoes and Farkle offered his hand to help her up.

"Could that be what it's about? Competition? To mess with me so I'll go easy on her for the auditions for the recital piece?"

"You need to calm down" he chuckled at his friend's worrying and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Just take this opportunity to make another friend, what's the worst that could happen?"

The two of them went to the barre and Maya made sure to stand beside Riley.

_What's the worst that could happen?_


End file.
